Sun Run 2013: A great race

I had to skip my Sun Run clinic this past weekend. But I made up for it with a half marathon.

Despite an evil wheezing cough and a bad hip — both of which made me seriously doubt whether I’d even bother making the trip to the start line on Sunday morning — I had my best race ever. Not only did I set a new personal record — by nearly five minutes — but it was the most beautiful and relaxing race I’ve run.

The day couldn’t have been better: clear skies, sunshine, early morning pink mountains. The course was flat, fast and gorgeous. It took us from the Roundhouse, around BC Place — which was not so beautiful, but necessary for the 21.1 km distance — down to the seawall, along English Bay to Stanley Park, along the shores of Lost Lagoon, all the way around the Stanley Park seawall, around Lost Lagoon again, and back to the Roundhouse.

And, perhaps best of all, my sister — who is a smart, fast, experienced runner — decided she would run with me. The whole way. Not just at the beginning. What a difference it made. She kept me from bolting off at the start — which I tend to do and which then exhausts me by the 10 km mark. She kept me occupied and entertained with conversation. And she pushed me for the final few kilometres, helping me reach my goal. And we crossed the finish line together just under 1 hour 53 minutes. What a race. It will be tough to top.

Now that it’s over, I can focus on my Sun Run training. It will be something of a relief to not have to squeeze in long runs every weekend, on top of my Sun Run clinic. Instead of distance, I can focus on speed. But first, I’m going to take a few days off from running, try to recover from this nasty cold and give my hip a rest.

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